RoHS Hazardous Substances

The full form of RoHS means restriction of hazardous substances. RoHS reach limits the usage of dangerous materials in the production of electronic and electric items.

The first directive of RoHS

The European Union released the original directives of the RoHS in the year 2002 To restrict the usage of six dangerous substances in the manufacturing of electrical and electronic devices. All the products released in the European market after 1st July 2006 are required to adhere to the Standard set by RoHS.

The limitations were as follows:

Cadmium only under the limit of 0.01%
Hexavalent Chromium only under the limit of 0.1%
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers only under the limit of 0.1%
Mercury is only under the limit of 0.1%
Lead only under the limit of 0.1%
Polybrominated biphenyls only under the limit of 0.1%

Second Directive of RoHS

The European Union passed another directive in 2011, which is also referred to as RoHS Recast or RoHS 2. The directives included CE markings along with RoHS compliance in the products.

Third directive of RoHs

In 2015, a directive was released that added four substances to the list of restricted ones. This directive is known as RoHS 3. These substances were commonly used as insulation plasticizers.

The restrictions were as follows:

Dibutyl Phthalate only under the limit of 0.1%
Diisobutyl Phthalate only under the limit of 0.1%
Bis(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate only under the limit of 0.1%
Benzyl Butyl Phthalate only under the limit of 0.1%

Following the guidelines

All organizations manufacture and sell electrical appliances and electronic items, including components, cable, assembled parts, etc. All the countries that follow RoHS must abide by the restrictions mentioned in the directive. Their sales and distribution are affected if they use the 10 restricted materials in the manufacturing of their product.

The directive given by the European Union specified that the following restricted material must be used within the given limit.